


Couples Retreat

by altkeys



Series: We've Got to Stop Meeting Like This [2]
Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-24
Updated: 2012-06-24
Packaged: 2017-11-08 11:16:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/442612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/altkeys/pseuds/altkeys
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Or: How Clint and Phil worked out their relationship problems in the trunk of a car.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Couples Retreat

**Author's Note:**

> Non-sexual Intimacy bingo #14- Traveling in Close Quarters
> 
> Can two grown men fit face to face in the trunk of a car? I don't know, my friends refused to try and see. So it's just a really big trunk, okay?

"You know when I suggested we do something special for our anniversary? I was thinking more like his and his Glocks and some time at the new range downtown. Re-living our first date isn't really what I had in mind."

Phil inches closer to Clint, more to avoid knocking his head against the spare tire, than any desire to be pressed up against his boyfriend.

"It wasn't a date and this isn't my fault."

"Are you saying it's my fault?"

"You shot him."

"He said the bow was an antiquated weapon!"

"The bow is an antiquated weapon!"

"Tell me how you really feel!"

"You want the truth? I feel like you wrecked a two month undercover operation for the sake of you own ego. I feel like you've been acting extremely childish for the last few weeks. And I feel like being trapped in the trunk of a car with you is something I never wanted to do again. Is that enough feelings for you?"

"I bet you wouldn't mind being trapped with me if I was Diane."

"Are you kidding me? Is that why you've been an asshole lately?"

"Well I'm sorry if I'm a little miffed that my boyfriend never got around to telling me about his wife."

"Ex-wife! My ex-wife, from a marriage that lasted less than a year, when I was twenty-three."

"That you never told me about."

"I didn't think it was relevant."

"It was."

"Well I think you've made that pretty clear, haven't you?"

Clint makes an angry sound and moves as far away from Phil as he can. Which is, at the most, maybe half an inch.

"You just don't get it, do you? I never know where I stand with you! One minute it's 'I love you', the next it's 'I'd prefer to keep this between us'."

"You know why I did that. The team -your team- had to know that I wasn't biased. They needed to know that I could still make the tough decisions and that our relationship had nothing to do with my calls in the field."

"And I think the last few months have established that it didn't matter at all. They don't care. They all know but nothing's changed."

"I couldn't be sure of that. Yes it all worked out fine, but it could have easily gone the other way."

"That's not it at all, you just don't trust them. You don't trust me."

"I trust you with my life."

"But not with your past! You know everything about me, every scar every secret! I don't even know your mother's name, or where you grew up, or what you wanted to be when you were a kid. Sometimes I think I don't know you at all."

"Clint."

"Don't 'Clint' me, I'm busy being angry with you."

Phil stays quiet for a few minutes, unsure what to say or what to do to make things better. He closes his eyes and decides to go for broke.

"The President. Also, Captain America."

"People you want to have sex with?" Clint asks, eyes narrowed in anger and confusion.

"What? No! When I was a kid I wanted to be the President and have a secret life as Captain America. Because who would suspect their Commander in Chief was also a superhero?"

Clint sighs and Phil can see a little of his anger slipping away. "I bet you were a cute kid."

"I think...my sister might have some old albums, I could see if she'd send them."

"I'd like that." He pauses for a second. "Did I really ruin the mission?"

"No," Phil admits, "I was going to have you shoot him after dinner anyway. And it'll be easier to take down the goons in a more isolated environment."

Clint grows quiet for a while after that; he starts gnawing on the edge of his thumbnail, the only nervous habit he could never bring himself to break. Phil reaches out to push Clint's hand away.

"You know I never thought I'd have a real relationship? Natasha was the closest I ever got and we were more likely to kill each other than live happily ever after."

He looks away and lets his head drop onto his arm, avoiding Phil's eyes.

"Then you come along and you make me want all of the domestic crap for the first time in my life and it sucks being invested in a relationship with someone who obviously doesn't think it's going to work out."

Phil wants to reach out to Clint, but can't bring himself to move closer.

"We don't have the kind of jobs you retire from Clint. Every morning you leave for work you pray to whatever you believe in that you'll make it back home in one piece. So is it easier to push you away than it is to worry every time I watch you jump off a building or taunt a psycopath? Of course it is, but that doesn't mean I don't love you. It means..."

"That you're as screwed up as me, just better at hiding it?"

"Pretty much." Phil runs his free hand over his face and feels years older than he did at the start of the conversation. "Look, how about a deal? I try to be more...open and you don't shoot people just because you're mad at me."

Clint purses his lips. "I guess I can live with that."

"Look, Diane and I got divorced because we didn't love each other enough to try and work things out. That won't happen with us; at least, not on my part. If I had to choose again, I probably wouldn't have gotten married the first time. We were too young and we didn't know what we really wanted."

"So what are you saying?"

"I'm old enough now to know what I want."

"You're not proposing or anything, are you?"

"No," Phil says shaking his head. "I think we have a lot issues to work out before that. Number one being getting out of this car."

"Oh don't worry about that. I activated my tracker miles ago, Tasha's probably monitoring our movements right now."

"I thought they searched you?"

Clint reaches up and taps at a mole nestled on the curve of his neck. If Phil's remembering correctly -and of course he is- that mole wasn't there yesterday.

"Tony's latest caffeine and booze-fueled brainchild. Thought I'd take the prototype out for a spin. The guys should have everything wrapped up pretty neatly as soon as we stop."

"You're not usually the type to sit back and let someone else do the hard work."

"Well it is our anniversary, maybe I just want to sit back and relax with my boyfriend."

"Or maybe you just want to watch the goons get beat up by a girl."

Clint smiles shamelessly, "That too."

Phil smiles back and then reaches out to cup Clint's face in his hand. He strokes his thumb over Clint's cheek, "I do love you, you know."

Clint turns his head and presses a kiss to Phil's palm before maneuvering over until he's pressed up against him "I love you too. Happy Anniversary."

"Happy Anniversary Clint." Phil kisses Clint's forehead and they settle down to wait.


End file.
